Tutorial: Your First Conversation with an AI Tool

This tutorial is for you if you have never typed a question into an AI tool before — or if you have tried but felt unsure what you were doing. By the end, you will have written a useful draft for a real clinical task.

We will use Claude (claude.ai) in this tutorial. The steps are almost identical if you prefer to use ChatGPT (chat.openai.com). Both are free to try.

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What You Will Do

You are going to ask an AI to help you write a plain-language explanation of egg retrieval for a patient who is nervous and has asked what to expect. This is a task you probably do many times a week. Let us see what the AI does with it.

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Step 1: Open the Tool

Go to claude.ai in your web browser. You will see a simple chat interface — a text box at the bottom of the screen, and a blank conversation area above it.

If you have not made an account, you can sign up with your email address. There is a free tier that is sufficient for what we are doing here.

You do not need to install anything.

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Step 2: Think Before You Type

This is the step most people skip — and it explains why many first attempts with AI feel disappointing.

Before you type, ask yourself: what do I want the AI to produce? What information does it need to do that? What tone should the result have?

In our case:

• What: A plain-language explanation of egg retrieval
• For whom: A nervous patient with no medical background
• Tone: Warm, honest, reassuring

Write this down mentally before you start typing.

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Step 3: Write Your First Prompt

Click into the text box and type:

"Write a short, warm explanation of egg retrieval for an IVF patient who is nervous and has no medical background. Explain what happens during the procedure, what she will feel, and what to expect immediately afterwards. Plain English. Around 200 words."

Then press Enter or click the arrow button to send.

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Step 4: Read What the AI Produces

The AI will respond in a few seconds. You will see a block of text appear. Read it carefully.

Here is an example of what Claude might say:

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"Egg retrieval is a short procedure — it usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes. You will be given sedation or a light anaesthetic beforehand, so you will be comfortable and will not feel the procedure itself.

During the procedure, a doctor uses a thin needle guided by an ultrasound scan to collect the eggs from your ovaries. This is done through the vaginal wall, so there are no cuts or stitches. You will be asleep or very relaxed throughout.

Afterwards, you will rest in a recovery area for a short time before going home. Most patients feel some mild cramping or bloating for the rest of the day — this is normal and should pass quickly. Some people feel tired after the sedation.

You should have someone with you to drive you home, as you will not be able to drive yourself after the anaesthetic.

Your nurse will tell you when to expect a call with the fertilisation update — usually the following morning. That can feel like a long wait, but your team will be in touch as soon as they have news for you."

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That is a reasonable starting point. Now let us look at how to improve it.

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Step 5: Identify What You Want to Change

Read the draft through the eyes of your specific patient. Perhaps:

• The line about "vaginal wall" is correct but might alarm a patient who did not know that
• You want a sentence acknowledging that it is completely normal to feel nervous
• Your clinic gives a different timing for the fertilisation call

Mark what you want to change. You do not need to rewrite everything. You are going to ask the AI to revise specific parts.

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Step 6: Ask for a Revision

In the same conversation — do not start a new one — type your follow-up instruction:

"The patient may not know the egg collection is done vaginally. Add a brief, calm sentence that introduces this without alarming her. Also add a sentence at the start acknowledging that it is normal to feel nervous about this step."

The AI will revise the relevant sections. Read the new version. You can keep refining like this — each message in the same conversation builds on the previous one.

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Step 7: Copy the Final Draft

When you are happy with the draft, select all the text and copy it. Open a blank document in your word processor, paste it, and read it one more time.

This is your working draft. Now add anything the AI cannot know: your clinic's name, the nurse's contact number, specific timing for your clinic's process.

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Step 8: Never Paste This Directly from AI to Patient

Before sending anything to a patient, you must read it in full. You are accountable for the content. The AI is not. Check:

• Are the facts correct?
• Is the tone right for this specific patient?
• Is there anything missing that this patient needs?

Remove the patient's name if you added it, and check nothing identifying has appeared.

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What You Have Just Learned

You have written a prompt, read the output, given follow-up instructions, and refined a draft. That is the core loop of working with an AI tool. Everything else is a variation of this same process.

Most people find the second prompt they write is much better than the first, because they have a clearer sense of what the AI needs from them.

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A Note on Privacy

In this tutorial, the prompt contained no patient information at all — just a general description of the task. Keep it that way in real use. Never type a patient's name, date of birth, or any identifying information into a public AI tool.

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Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.